Meaning & use
European Community
Last updated
Meanings
proper nounproperformal
The group of European countries that cooperated on trade and economic matters, and later became part of the European Union.
Grammar: Always capitalized: Britain joined the European Community in 1973.
Patterns
- join the European Community
- member of the European Community
Britain joined the European Community in 1973.
The European Community removed many trade barriers among its members.
Spain became a member of the European Community in 1986.
proper nounproperlegalformal
Used in some official contexts as a name for the economic part of the European Union's legal structure.
Grammar: Rare today; mainly historic or legal.
The treaty establishing the European Community set common rules for trade.
Historians often refer to the European Community when describing 1980s policy.
European Community law influenced national legislation.
Common combinations
- join the European Community
- Greece joined the European Community in 1981.
- European Community law
- European Community law applied in all member states.
- member of the European Community
- Each member of the European Community had one commissioner.
- European Community countries
- European Community countries agreed on common tariffs.
Synonyms and how they differ
- European Union
- The European Union is the modern successor, with wider powers than the European Community had.
- EEC
- EEC means European Economic Community, the earlier and narrower name from which the European Community developed.
- the Common Market
- The Common Market is an informal nickname for the same trading bloc.
Word family
Commonly confused: European Community or European Union?
European Community vs European Union
The European Union replaced the European Community in 1993 and covers politics, not just economics.
Practice
Which name was used for the trading group of European countries before the European Union existed?
Choose one answer.
The European Community was the earlier body that later became part of the European Union. The Commonwealth and the United Nations are different organizations.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “European Community”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.